Cheshire School Renovation Tough Sell For Selectmen

Any renovation of Hoosac Valley Elementary School will be a hard sell in Cheshire.

That was the message on Tuesday from the Board of Selectmen to John Vosburgh, the new superintendent fo the Adams-Cheshire Regional School District.

Vosburgh informed the board that representatives from the Massachusetts School Building Authority will visit the Adams school this month for a senior study of the building.

Earlier this year, the district submitted a statement of interest to the MSBA, which is done on a regular basis. Out of 70 applications, 28 districts were chosen for this preliminary survey.

Selectman Robert Ciskowski said a renovation of the former C.T. Plunkett may not go over well after the closing of Cheshire Elementary School in 2016. Cheshire residents would have to foot a portion of the bill.

Vosburgh, who joined the district a year after the closure, agreed and said the optimal scenario would be a new building next to Hoosac Valley High School and creating a one-campus district.

He added that the MSBA requires the district to submit different options, so the application did include this new build as well as a renovation at Hoosac Valley Elementary. He said if they go further in the process, the MSBA will evaluate all the options and decide how much each will cost the communities.

The former Taconic High School principal said, either way, any decision is a long way off.